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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. bass — the fish
  4. chip — to eat
  5. court — for sport
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. root — the cause
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stand — to bear
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. court — of law
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stock — shares
  22. court — of a king
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com